For Better, for Worse
by Reefgirl
Summary: The Doctor tracks an alien signal to an Irish village in mourning where everything is not as it should be with the dead and his murderer's. 10xOC non romantic Set between Doomsday and Smith and Jones. Final chapter is up
1. Confessions

Rating: T

Spoilers: None

Pairings: Doctor/OC (Non-Romantic)

Summary: The Doctor tracks an alien signal to a small Irish village in mourning

Disclaimer: Don't own any of it

Authors Notes: I have no idea where this came from, probably too much Dr Who and Ballykissangel. This is a very rare foray outside the Stargate Atlantis fandom for me so be kind. Takes place somewhere between Doomsday and Smith and Jones. I'm not Irish either so forgive any spelling mistakes.

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Father Patrick McKenzie looked at his watch and wondered if anyone else was going to come to confession today, the only person that had been in was Agnes Kelly and that wasn't unusual, Agnes came to confession _every_ Friday, whether she needed to or not. He straightened himself up as he heard the door to the confessional open; he opened the grilled hatch after the rap,

"It's been a while since my last confession," said a woman's voice. He recognised the voice of the late Danny Sullivan's wife Marie

"How can I help you" he replied

"It's not a confession as such but I need to tell someone, it's about Danny's death, that police call box and the strange man in the brown suit and plimsolls. Fr Patrick sat up straighter, the blue police box and the stranger had been the subject of much gossip in the village over the last few weeks and he'd never believed the official report into Danny's death, thieves that had turned a gun on him as he'd tried to arrest them,

"I'm listening," he said

"Well I suppose it started at Danny's funeral, that's where I first saw him," said Marie.


	2. Requiems and Strangers

Disclaimers: Same as Chapter 1

* * *

She looked up at the roof of the church as she heard the sound of rain falling, God himself was weeping for her Danny. Marie Sullivan hadn't heard a word of the Requiem Mass being said for her husband, her mind was numb, it had only been a week since he'd been killed on duty by thieves breaking into the church in the next village where he was the Garda. The population of two villages were here telling her how brave her husband was, what a good man he was, how much he was going to be missed, there were too many uses of the word was for her liking. Her mother tapped her arm, she looked up to see Danny's coffin being lifted onto the shoulders of his fellow Garda and slowly following Fr Patrick down the aisle, she stood and followed the coffin, her mother on one side of her and Auntie Agnes on the other. Usually she couldn't stand the two women fussing around her but now it was comforting.

* * *

The Tardis landed gently for once, the Doctor collected his coat, made one final study of the Tardis console

"Ok this is the village of Ballyleegan...somewhere in the Republic of Ireland, it's...a Thursday, hmm never could get the hang of Thursdays and I'm looking for someone or something from the Tulah home world" he said as he ran for the door. Stepping out he looked up and wrinkled his nose, it was raining, for some odd reason rain made him think of Rose, she loved the rain, he heaved a sigh and took in his surroundings, the Tardis had parked herself in an alleyway behind a pub.

"Best place in the universe" he patted the Tardis and fished the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, he clicked it and it hummed "this way" he said as he ran off down the ally. When he reached the end he saw a funeral procession passing up the road, 'Military?' he thought as the coffin bearer's were in uniform 'no, police by the looks of it'. At that moment, the younger of the women immediately behind the coffin looked at him, just briefly and he could see the grief etched in her face, she must be the widow of whoever was in the coffin. He'd faced death, he'd caused death and he'd cheated death but he'd never hung around long enough to see the effects death had, he swallowed and looked away, why was he feeling guilty, this death had nothing to do with him. The sonic screwdriver beeped, he looked at it and frowned

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," he said to the screwdriver, according to the data the signal was coming from inside the coffin.

* * *

Marie was standing under the big black umbrella that Auntie Agnes had got from someone, there wasn't much of the service left thank goodness she thought, she didn't know how much longer she could go on. Fr Patrick was just getting to the Ashes to Ashes part when Marie looked up and saw him again, the skinny man with the brown suit and long coat, she'd seen him briefly, standing in the ally between Kitty's shop and the pub, the look on his face then had matched her own. Her mother tapped her arm

"Who's that in the long coat, is he a friend of Danny's?" she asked

"I've never seen him before, I was going to ask you if you knew who he was" replied Marie.

"Now what do I do, do I march up to the widow and say 'excuse me can I look in your husband's coffin because there's something not of this world in there with him' I wish Rose was here, even Donna, I'm no good at this" said the Doctor to no one in particular.

"Take care of yourself"

"We'll pray to St Paula to give you guidance"

"I'm so sorry for your loss"

"Your Danny was a good man", the words of sympathy were coming thick and fast, she noticed that Dominic and Mary had sloped off to open up O'Leary's for the wake.

"I'm so sorry for your loss" Marie looked up, into the face of the stranger in the long coat

"Thank you, Marie replied

"It'll get better in time" said the Doctor as he shook her hand and moved off

"Wait, who are you" she called after him, but he just carried on walking.

* * *

In a garage on the outskirts of the neighbouring village, Kilane, three men were working at a computer

"There, it landed in the next village" a few keys were tapped "according to the data we have it's...it's...this isn't possible" the man tapped more keys "it's a Timelord" said Jack.

"They're extinct," said Ted

"Legend says one survived, a wanderer, a vigilante," said Dougal

"Whatever the legends and stories say, the Timelords have a no authority over the universe anymore," said Jack "but we've got what we came for so we'll stay here for now, until it's safe to leave".

The computer beeped again and Jack started to decode the message that popped up

"I don't think so, according to this there are more traces of the scourge that is Tulah," he said.

* * *

**Three Days Later...**

Marie was sitting in her front room packing boxes, she had to do something, the Garda Síochána weren't expecting her back to work for a few more weeks and sorting out Danny's things was something she couldn't put off any longer. She sighed as there was a knock on the door, probably someone from the village making sure she was ok or bringing her some food, the Catholic Women's League were under the impression she couldn't look after herself, she opened the door to find the priest standing there.

"Father Pat, come in," she said, best to get it over with

"I need your professional advice" he replied, Marie's interest piqued, all police business was being handled the Headquarters in Roseabbey

"What's up?" she asked

"Can you come with me, something's appeared behind the pub," he said, Marie collected her warrant card and a couple of things and followed the priest.

A small crowd was surrounding the blue phone box when Fr Patrick and Marie arrived

"It's a police phone box," said Marie

"I wondered if the Garda Síochána had put it there," said Fr Patrick

"I noticed it when I took the bins out this morning," said Dominic, the landlord

"I first noticed it on the day of your Danny's funeral, I didn't say anything because I didn't want to upset you" said Kitty, the shop owner. Marie smiled and took out her phone

"I'll call Roseabbey and see if they put it there but I can't see it being official," she said as she dialled

"Why?" asked Kitty

"Everything's written in English, not Irish and English," explained Marie. A murmur ran through the crowd and they began to speculate as to who'd left the blue box there, most believed it had something to do with the stranger that had been seen in the village. Marie snapped her phone shut

"It's nothing to do with the Garda, Sgt Moran said it's possibly a film or TV company, he says you can't be too careful and wants me to look inside, just in case" she said. Marie slid the phone back in her pocket and pushed at the door of the phone box, it was locked, she pulled out a set of picklocks and set to work on the lock, the lock clicked and she pushed the door opened and took a couple of steps inside.

Marie stood inside what looked like a control room of a space ship with her mouth hanging open, she crossed herself

"Holy Mother Mary protect me," she whispered as she turned around, looking in wonder. She whipped her head round as she heard footsteps behind her, she saw the stranger in the long coat stroll in with a book in his hand

"Hello" he said.

**TBC**

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* * *

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Garda Síochána - Literal translation Guardian's of the Peace, the Irish police force

The Ted, Jack, Dougal thing will be explained in later chapters, honest

Please review; I don't want this to be the only story of mine without any.


	3. Who Are You and Why Are You Here

Thanks to EllieV, Elizabeth Bartlett and Lana Aurelius for the reviews

Disclaimers: Same as Ch 1

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"Who the hell are you and why is this police phone box bigger on the inside than the outside?" said Marie

"Why does everyone ask me that question, I'm the Doctor and it's a chameleon circuit, it disguises my ship so you see what it wants you to see," he snapped

"Well it's not working, there's a crowd of people outside wanting to know why an English phone box is in an Irish village" she replied. The Doctor looked sheepish

"Ah, it's broken it got stuck like that when it landed in a junk yard" he smiled as he recognised the woman in front of him "we met the other day didn't we?" Marie faltered.

"Yes, at my husbands funeral" she swallowed and composed herself, she was the Garda and he was, well who knew what he was "you say you're a Doctor, Doctor...who" she said with a wave of her hand. The Doctor rolled his eyes

"And that one never gets old either" he muttered to himself "nothing, just the Doctor and you are?" he said, Marie fished out her ID and handed it over

"I'm the Garda, so answer my questions," she said folding her arms. The Doctor looked over her ID

"Garda Marie Sullivan" he snapped her ID closed and handed it back "pleased to meet you Garda Marie Sullivan" he said with a grin

"Likewise Doctor Just The Doctor, now who are you or should that be _what_ are you?" she asked

"Ah, so me telling you I'm Dr John Smith of UNIT's Astronomy department isn't going to do me much good" Marie shook her head. They both turned, as there was a knocking on the door

"Marie, Marie are you alright in there," said a voice, Marie rolled her eyes

"It's Father Pat, I told you there was a crowd of people out there" said Marie as she went over to the door. The Doctor frowned

"That reminds me, how did you get in?" he asked

"Picked the lock," she replied

"I've got to do something about that" he leant against the console "and you can stop making it so easy," he muttered to the Tardis, he frowned again "I don't care, she might be nice but I don't want anyone with me". Marie opened the door of the Tardis and peered out

"Marie, what on Earth is going on in there" said Fr Patrick

"Nothing it's perfectly ok" she called out to the people gathered behind the priest "there's nothing to see, go about your business, I've got it all under control," she said as she closed the door, the crowd moved away grumbling. Marie turned back to the Doctor "now are you going to tell me all about yourself and what you're doing here or do I have to use my authority". The Doctor thought about bluffing his way out of it but he needed her help and, by the look on her face, she wouldn't think twice about hauling him off to the local police station.

"What do you think?" he asked with a grin

"You're an alien," she said, the Doctor nodded

"Yes I am" Marie smirked "what's so funny" asked the Doctor

"The thought of me hauling you down to the cells in Roseabby, Sgt Moran asking you for your address and you saying Mars" she said with a giggle.

"I'm not Martian" he ran his fingers through his hair "thank God, boy they're ugly" he said

"Oh right, there's life on Mars" she replied sarcastically

"Yeah, but they won't make themselves know for at least...oooo...five hundred years" he smiled at her but she didn't smile back. "I'm the Doctor, this is the Tardis it stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space, I'm from a planet called Gallifrey, I'm a Timelord and I'm tracking a signal from someone or something from the Tulah homeworld" he closed his eyes and sighed "and the signal came from your husbands coffin" he said. With that Marie snapped, strode across the Tardis and slapped the Doctor hard across the face, he recoiled clutching his cheek "what the...what did you do that for?" he said

"Stay away from me and my Danny, I know you've been hanging around the cemetery by my Danny's grave, Father Pat's seen you and Dominic and Mary they think you're one of his murderers, gloating," she screamed as tears ran down her face. "You leave this place and go back to Gallifrey or where ever it is you come from or...or I'll get Torchwood down here and let them do whatever the hell they want with you". The Doctor looked stricken, he'd never meant to hurt her, he was certain that the body in the coffin was not human but he needed to know more about the man called Danny Sullivan

"Marie please...let me explain..." he said but she was already at the door

"Get away from me" she sobbed as she threw the door open and ran out. He ran to the door and called after her

"Marie wait...please" he called, but she was gone.

* * *

Marie ran as fast as she could, ignoring the calls of people she passed, she had to get as far away from the Doctor and his bigger-on-the-inside police box, why could he leave her Danny alone? She'd been meaning to tackle him about the reports she'd had about him hanging around the cemetery, she'd thought, as others had, that he was one of the murderers but now it turned out he was an alien tracking an alien signal coming from Danny's coffin. Next time she called Gwen she'd ask about the Doctor. Marie found herself in the cemetery and went straight to her husband's grave

"Oh Danny what's going on? What's in there with you?" she sighed as she started to weep again.

* * *

The Doctor stood with his head leaning on the Tardis door, he hadn't meant to upset her that was the last thing he ever wanted to do, he'd been in that pit of despair that she was in. He wanted to tell her it was all going to be ok and tell her he knew just what she was going through; he'd do anything to ease her suffering. He felt the Tardis nudge his mind

"I'm going I'm going" he said with a sigh, opened the door and left.

* * *

Marie had cried until there was nothing left, she'd tried to be brave and show the village she was coping because she didn't want people making a fuss. Maybe she should go away for a while, go and see Gwen in Cardiff for a few days, Danny had never really liked Gwen, for the last couple of years he'd been avoiding her, always going on course's or away with his friends whenever she was due to visit, if fact it had been ever since Gwen had joined Torchwood. She was so busy pondering this information that she never noticed the Doctor approaching

"I'm sorry", Marie's head jerked up "please, just listen to me, I'm so sorry I upset you, I never meant to, I...I know exactly what you're going through, I've lost so many that I guess I just don't...know...how...anyway, I'm sorry" he said

"It's ok" she replied. His face told her everything, he was genuinely upset,

"Anyway, I'm going to take your advice and just go, let the..." he breathed in deeply, trying to control himself "...Time Agency handle it" the Doctor said. He held his hand out to Marie just as a bolt of energy flew passed and exploded into the ground behind them.


	4. Ah Go On Father Go On, Go On,Go On

Disclaimers: Same as Ch 1. I don't own Father Ted either

Author's Notes: This episode is a little silly in places but still readable I hope, but at least the Ted, Jack and Dougal thing will be explained, I hope. Thanks to the reviewers

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Marie screamed and threw herself to the ground and gasped as the Doctor landed on top of her

"What in the name of God is that?" she asked.

"If we're lucky it's the Daleks," he said

"And if we're unlucky?" she replied

"It's the Krikken," he said "and I think they're after you"

"Why?" she asked. The Doctor rolled off Marie and looked up to see three blaster's pointed at him

"I think we're going to find out" he said as he pulled Marie to her feet. Marie looked at the three men pointing alien gun's at her and gaped open mouthed at them, after all that had happened to her in the last two weeks this was the strangest,

"You have no authority here Timelord," said Ted

"And what makes you think you have" replied the Doctor

"She is infested with the scourge that is Tulah," said Jack

"I'm infested with _what, _" exclaimed Marie

"Quiet" yelled Dougal "We have been charged with hunting down the last of the Tulah and wiping them out"

"By whose authority?" asked the Doctor

"Krikken's Ruling Council, we are the only three left, we thought we had killed the last of the scourge until we picked up another signal growing in you" said Jack. Marie started to giggle

"You killed my husband, Father Ted, Father Jack and Father Dougal are aliens and killed my husband," she said, Marie's laughter was turning to hysteria, the Doctor couldn't blame her, this was too much for anyone to take in. She reached for the throat of the nearest man but the Doctor grabbed her hand,

"Don't do that" he turned back to the three aliens "so why and how did you take on the form of three priests from a TV show" he turned to Marie "it's a favourite of mine"

"We picked up a signal and programmed the nanogenes to rearrange us in the image on the signal," said Ted

"Boy those nanogenes have a warped sense of humour," the Doctor muttered.

"They murdered my husband, the murdered my Danny" Marie said as the three aliens raised their blasters, the Doctor stood in front of her

"No, I'm not going to let you kill an innocent woman" he said

"Get out of our way Timelord, unless you wish your race to become extinct too" said Dougal

"No, you're not committing genocide" the Doctor growled.

"How will you stop us Timelord?" said Jack,

"Like this" said the Doctor, he pointed the sonic screwdriver at the church, the lights went out as the bells began to ring. Jack, Dougal and Ted clapped their hands over their ears, the Doctor grabbed Marie's hand and pulled her after him

"Marie, come on, come on we've got to go," he said, she let him pull her along after him

"Where are we going?" she asked stupidly

"Back to the Tardis" he replied

"Ok" she said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

They reached the Tardis and the Doctor unlocked the door as the three aliens rounded the corner and fired at them, he pulled Marie through the door and slammed it shut as another blast of energy hit the Tardis. He ran around the console pulling levers and punching buttons, keeping up a constant dialogue, Marie just stared at him

"You all right?" he asked, noticing she'd gone pale, she shook her head and her knees buckled. The Doctor ran over and caught her before she could hit her head on the floor "quite right, you deserve to faint".

* * *

Marie forced her eyes open, the last thing she remembered was being shot at by Fathers Ted, Jack and Dougal and being dragged inside the Doctor's bigger-on-the-inside police box

"Welcome back" said the Doctor, gently stroking the hair out of her eyes

"What happened?" she asked

"You fainted, not surprising really with what you've been through, your brain couldn't cope anymore, it said 'Tilt' and shut down" he said with a smile. Marie sat up on the bed.

"What is this place?" she asked

"The medical bay, a couple of rooms down from the main room" he sighed and ran his hands through his hair" "I suppose you want answers?" he said

"Yes please" she replied

"Where do you want to start?" he said as he hopped up onto the bed beside her

"My husband was an alien, a Tulah wasn't he?" she said. The Doctor nodded

"Looks like it and it looks like he was the last of them," he said

"I gathered that, why did those look-alikes want to wipe his...kind out?" she asked, the Doctor sighed

"Same old story, civil war over religion and ideology 'Our way is the correct way, those that don't follow our way will be exterminated'" he replied bitterly

"Something's never change, even in space" replied Marie softly

"Yeah, anyway the Tulah and the Krikken waged war until there was nothing left but a few stragglers from each side and a destroyed planet" the Doctor said

"And the survivors." she asked

"I don't know, one obviously came here, a Tulah medical transport landed here in 1941 followed by a warship that had been stolen by a...a friend, Captain Jack Harkness, but that exploded" he said. Marie frowned, the name Jack Harkness rang a bell but she couldn't for the life of her think where from

"But Danny was human, I should know I was married to him for three years, I would have known if he wasn't" she said

"The Tulah had these things called nanogenes that could rewrite DNA, that's how they Krikken changed" he tipped his head to one side as if remembering something. "They must have upgraded them, the ones I came across had to actually be in contact to change people, regenerate, hmm never thought of it like that. Anyway the Tulah weren't all that different from humans, their blood was copper based so it was green and their ears were pointed but apart from that, the physiology was the same," he said. Marie blinked at him

"Are you telling me my husband was Mr Spock?" she said incredulously, the Doctor grinned

"Where do you think Gene Roddenberry got his ideas from?" he replied

"But you said these nano things could rewrite DNA, so how did the Fathers find him" she asked. The Doctor shrugged

"Dunno, something must have gone wrong" he said, Marie gasped

"The Father's where are they?" she said

"Trying to get in, they won't succeed, the hordes of Genghis Khan, Daleks and some pretty upset Inter Milan fans couldn't get through the doors" he frowned at a memory. "Hang on how do you know about Torchwood?" he asked

"My friend Gwen works for them, I met her a few years ago when I went on one of these exchange things, a few of us went to Cardiff and some of them came to us I stayed with Gwen and we've been friends ever since, it explains why Danny started to avoid her" she replied

"It explains why you took the Tardis and me being alien in your stride," he said.

"After the Cybermen and the Star of Bethlehem at Christmas, it didn't seem that big a deal I suppose," she said

"Your threat wouldn't of worked, Torchwood already know too much about me" the Doctor replied with a grin "come on, we've got to deal with three mad alien priests".

"Doctor, what did they mean about me being infested with Tulah?" asked Marie "have I got some kind of disease", the Doctor rolled his eyes then smiled

"I'd have thought you'd have worked that out by now...mum" he said with a grin "come on".


	5. Do I Stay Or Do I Go

Disclaimers: Same as Ch 1. I don't own Father Ted either

Author's Notes: This is the final chapter but I have plans for another oneshot starring Marie. Thanks to the reviewers

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Marie sat frozen to the spot with her hands over her stomach, this wasn't really news as she'd suspected for a couple of weeks that she was pregnant but having it bought out in the open by an alien who'd just confirmed her husband was an alien wasn't the strangest thing to happen to her this week.

"Come on if you're coming, we've got three mad alien priests to stop" said the Doctor

"Is it ok, the baby I mean, they're not going to take it away from me and lock it away in our version of Area 51 are they" asked Marie. The Doctor's face softened into a smile

"I shouldn't think so, from what I can tell the DNA is mostly human, junior may have a few of daddy's characteristics but they'll be easy to explain away," he said kindly, Marie smiled back

"Thank you," she said.

"What for? I've bought chaos into your life why would you be thanking me?" he asked

"For being there I suppose and for bringing the chaos, the people in the village have been walking on eggshells around me, this has given me the kick I needed to get on with life" she gave a little huff of laughter. "Danny would have been so annoyed at me sitting around feeling sorry for myself, he always said if anything happened to him not to sit around and wait, I had to get out there and carry on or it would have all been for nothing, knowing what I know now it makes sense. He came here to keep his...people I suppose, alive or their memory at least, if he'd have given up his fight, that war you told me about would have been for nothing. Now I have a reason to carry on" she smiled in wonder "I'm carrying the last surviving member of an alien civilization" she said, the Doctor grabbed her and enveloped her in a hug

"And I can't think of anyone better to do it, you're a wonder Marie Sullivan, a true honest-to-the-gods-of-Gallifrey miracle" he untangled himself from her and grabbed her hand "come on, we're going to save the day" he said as he ran to the control room dragging her after him.

"So what are you going to do?" asked Marie

"Get them to follow the Tardis, they must have a ship around here somewhere" he ran around the console pushing buttons and pulling leavers "if I can lure them into the vortex, I can trap them in the cargo bay and go from there" he said. The central column started to move and the tardis gave a lurch causing the Doctor and Marie to grab onto the nearest thing for support, the doctor punched up the viewing monitor and, sure enough, the saw a ship following them

"That's going to leave a few awkward questions that need answering," said Marie,

"Don't you believe it, it's amazing how human's just blank these kind of things out, this planet has been invaded so many times and no-one remembers, you've all got your own perception filters, SEP's" said the Doctor

"Someone' Else's Problem fields you mean" she replied. The Doctor grinned

"I like your choice of reading matter Marie Sullivan" he said, "now this is where things get a little weird so don't panic" he grinned again at his choice of words "no really, don't panic, the Tardis is going to dematerialise momentarily so it can trap the ship in the cargo bay". Marie yelped in surprise as the post she was holding onto disappeared, she could see and orange swirling vortex shimmering through the walls

"Doctor" she gasped

"It's ok, you're perfectly safe" he replied as he punched some more buttons and the walls of the Tardis solidified "right now that's done we should go and see to our prisoners".

They entered the cargo bay to see the three alien priests standing outside their ship, encased in a force field

"Release us Timelord, you have no authority" roared Ted

"Neither do you" replied the Doctor, calmly "you have no right over this woman or her child"

"We have been authorised by the Krikken High Council to wipe out the last remaining Tulah" bellowed Jack

"They no longer exist" yelled the Doctor "your enemy no longer exists and neither do your people, you are fighting for nothing"

"How does that make us different from you Timelord? Your war no longer exists, your people no longer exists yet you still fight, why?" said Dougal. The Doctor froze, his face a still mask, but his eyes spoke volumes

"I fight to stay clean and to make sure the sacrifice was not in vain" he said through gritted teeth, barely controlling himself. Marie looked from the priests to the Doctor, she could see that they were pressing the Doctor's buttons and he was barely keeping his temper

"Come on, leave them be, we need to plan our next step" she said

"No, I need to know why they did what they did, I want to know why they wiped out an entire race" he said breathing through his teeth.

"The same reason you wiped out the Daleks" replied Dougal. The Doctor lost it completely and made to run at the priests but Marie grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back as her Garda instincts took over

"That's enough" she said as she wrestled him towards the door

"Let me go" he yelled, he couldn't believe she'd stopped him, him The Oncoming Storm

"No, come on you need to get into that main room of yours" she ordered. He pulled himself away from her and trudged disconsolately back to the control room

"Now what?" asked Marie "is there an intergalactic war crimes tribunal you can send them too?". The Doctor stopped

"Not anymore" he said, not looking at her "apart from me".

"No-one, no intergalactic police force?" she asked

"Only the Judoon and they're mercenaries, for the want of a better word" the Doctor finally looked at her "thank you, for stopping me" Marie smiled

"It's my job, Guardian of the Peace" she said "what are you going to do with them" the Doctor ran his hand through his hair

"Dunno, keep them in the cargo bay until I think of something I guess". He took her hand and ran his thumb over the back of it "come with me, I need you", Marie's jaw dropped open

"I can't, what about the baby?" she said

"Tell your family you're going away for a bit, I'll drop you back here and life can go on, I need someone like you to...to keep me clean" he said.

"I can't, as much as I'd love to travel with you I'm needed here" she replied.

"They can get someone to fill in while you're gone can't they" he remarked

"It won't be the same, I know everyone in the village and they know me, someone has to give the children their 'don't talk to strangers' lecture and make sure they cross the road outside the school safely. They'll listen to me, they might not listen to someone else and I'd never be able to live with myself if something happened because someone didn't listen because it wasn't me who spoke to them" she said. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm so glad I met you Marie Sullivan" he said

"You could do me one favour" she said

"Anything" he replied

"Show me Danny's home" she asked

"Of course, there's not much left of it now but I could take you back in time to see it" he said with a smile.

"I'd like to see it now" she said.

* * *

The Tardis landed and the Doctor indicated for Marie to open the door. She stepped out into what looked like a ruined citadel,

"This was Tulah's capital city, where we're standing is the ruins of their temple, it was beautiful, carved out of the crystal cliffs, I've seen the sun shining through it, refracting the light and sending a rainbow of colours over the city, so beautiful" he sounded wistful, Marie had the feeling his mind was elsewhere, his own home perhaps. She bent to pick up something she saw glinting under the dust, it was a large piece of crystal

"Can I take this with me? Nothing's going to happen if I take it home, will it?" she said. The Doctor looked at the crystal

"No, it'll be perfectly ok" he smiled at her "are you ok?" he asked

"Yes, I'm perfectly ok" she replied, he put his arm around her and guided her back to the Tardis, the doors closed and the control column began to more. The Tardis landed and Marie headed for the door clutching the crystal

"Are you sure you won't change your mind" the Doctor asked, Marie nodded

"Quite sure, this is my home and they need me" she pointed up "your place is up there guarding the peace among the stars, mine is here" she said

"Thank you, for not asking" he said. She knew exactly what he meant

"You'd have told me if you wanted to" she replied, he needed to tell someone, anyone about what he'd seen, she could see it

"I know" he said sadly

"Tell Father Pat in Confession, anything you say to him will stay with him, he's not allowed to tell anyone else" she said. The Doctor nodded

"One day" he said "anyway off you go, I've got three mad priests to deal with"

"Will you let me know what happens to them" she said

"I promise" he said. Marie stepped through the door and watched the blue box disappear in a gust of wind.

* * *

A week later the Doctor walked down the road towards a school in a little Irish village, he could see Marie in the road stopping the traffic as a stream of schoolchildren walked across in front of her, every one of them stopped and handed her some flowers or hugged her or stopped to tell her some piece of news. Most of the mothers stopped to hug her too, news of the baby must be out he thought.

"Doctor" she said as she put the flowers the children had given her next to her bag

"First day back?" he asked

"You guessed huh" she replied with a smile

"I can see why you didn't want to leave" he said.

"So, what happened?" she asked

"There's a Brotherhood on Proxima Three that have taken it upon themselves to take care of and rehabilitate criminals, I left the priests with them to see the error of their ways, they're a good bunch those brothers" he said.

"And what about you, what do you do now?" she asked

"I'm going to have a heart to heart with someone and then I'm off to London, a storm's brewing" he replied. Marie held out her hand, the Doctor took it and squeezed it

"Good luck to you Doctor" she fumbled in her pocket for something "here this is for you" she handed over a small plastic wallet with a card on one side and a small medallion on the other. "It's St. Christopher, the patron saint of travellers, he'll watch over you where ever you are" she said, the Doctor was genuinely moved

"Thank you" he said as he hugged her for the last time

"Will I see you again" she asked, the Doctor looked over her should and broke into a big grin. Marie looked to see what the Doctor was grinning at "oh that must be Michael Connelly, he's Danny's replacement as Garda in Kilane", the Doctor was still grinning

"Oh I'll be back, in about five years" he said as he waved goodbye.

* * *

"So that's it, Danny was an alien and so was the man in the brown suit and the phone box was a spaceship" said Marie,

"I see, is there anything else" asked Father Patrick

"No, that's everything" Marie replied

"Go in peace" said Father Patrick. After Marie had left he leant back in his chair, it all made perfect sense now, five years ago an English man had come to confession and told him a fantastic tale of an intergalactic war, his part in it and the burden he'd carried since. Patrick had dismissed it as fantasy then and had prayed for the tortured mind of the poor man who'd come to him, now he added this lonely traveller known only as the Doctor to the list of people he regularly prayed for.


End file.
